WORLD BANK: MARCH EARTHQUAKE TO CAUSE 2.5% DECLINE IN MYANMAR’S GDP

Myanmar’s economy is set to shrink 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, largely as a result of March’s devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake, the World Bank said on Thursday.

The country’s economy had already been battered by four years of brutal civil war when the March 28 tremor hit, killing nearly 3,800 people and destroying swathes of home and businesses.

A World Bank report predicted GDP will contract 2.5 percent in the financial year ending in March 2026 “mostly due to earthquake impacts”, with output $2 billion lower than it would have been without the disaster.

“The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar’s people,” said World Bank division director for Thailand and Myanmar, Melinda Good.

The tremor also inflicted an estimated $11 billion in damages, equivalent to 14 percent of GDP, according to the report.

Thank you for reading! Visit us anytime at Myanmar.com for more insights and updates.